what is the average throat/muzzle wear of a service grade M1 and how do those translate to inherent accuracy compared to a new bore?

I have a number of 1947-73 30-06 ammo, mostly lake city of varying types, is all of this stuff M1 safe or was there hotter stuff to look out for?

also, I got it loose in ammo cans, how can i tell if it's lake city or reloads?

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If the primer crimp is intact they are not reloads. (But there's a very small chance they could be remanufactured from surplus brass)

The M2 ball dated prior to '53 or so is probably corrosive. Group that stuff together to shoot at the same time. After shooting, clean your gun as normal. Then clean the barrel and gas cylinder again with hot soapy water. Then clean a third time as normal leaving an oil residue for corrosion protection.

If the ammo came from the CMP it's not reloaded.

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didn't come from CMP, it's a private source. I think I shot all everything prior to 60s but some may have escaped and I have no idea the dates on any of the tracers or black tip I have, only that the tracers don't work anymore and at least some of the black tip still punctures 3/4" plate. however I learned the hard way that some of it is corrosive...left a rife for a month after shooting it...left a nice mess to clean up prior to selling the gun...

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ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar.
I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein
You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

Why would it be corrosive? Even the Commie ammo that we see that is listed as corrosive is that way because the primers contained Mercury. I don't know of any US made ammo that used Mercury in the primers.

The loose stuff mentioned is just as likely reclaimed machine gun ammo that's been de-linked and the tracers removed. The CMP has sold tons of that stuff.

what is the average throat/muzzle wear of a service grade M1 and how do those translate to inherent accuracy compared to a new bore?

Here is what I have been told. It may or may not be true, but it sounds reasonable.

Muzzles and throats are gauged on a continuous scale between 0 and 5. When you go to one of the CMP storefronts, they will loan you a gauge to check throats and muzzles.

Throat wear represents number of rounds fired. IOW, if 2000 rounds have been fired through the gun, then the throat gauge would read as a '2'. At 5000 rounds, the gauge would read as a '5' and it would be time to send the rifle back to the arsenal for refurb.

Muzzle wear is more of a statement of cleaning practices. As we all know, Mr. Cleaning Rod is not our friend, and particularly on the Garand and M14/M1A because they cannot be cleaned from the breech end. Again, I have been told that much of the muzzle wear on a Garand can be attributed to the cleaning rod abrading the muzzle. This is the major reason that most European countries freebored their muzzles up until the Cold War.

So, I have never bothered to verify this, because, frankly, it does not really matter to me. I have one Garand where the throat gauges 4.3, and it is a 2.5 inch rifle at 100 yards. That's not in the same category as my K-31, but it is better than one of my Mausers, and a lot better than the Carcano.

To answer your question, on the last 2 Service Grade Garands that I bought, one was about 1.7 throat and 2 muzzle, and the other was a 1.5 throat and a 1.7 muzzle. I was in the Anniston store and picked through the racks for these rifles. I was not buying them for the gauge values, but more for overall condition and manufacturer.

Why would it be corrosive? Even the Commie ammo that we see that is listed as corrosive is that way because the primers contained Mercury. I don't know of any US made ammo that used Mercury in the primers.

The loose stuff mentioned is just as likely reclaimed machine gun ammo that's been de-linked and the tracers removed. The CMP has sold tons of that stuff.

I know for a fact that the 47 head stamped 30-06 rusts like crazy, as does the 40 headstampted 45 ACP steel cased stuff out of spam cans. I can also vouch for some of the 7.62x39 being corrosive as well. there is more to rust than mercury, salts in the primers draw water out of the air but also bring it to the metal causing rust and a lot of ammo prior to the 70s had salt in the primers as preservative.

__________________
ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar.
I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein
You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

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